My Hero
by FluorescentAdolescent3
Summary: She's just standing there with a DVD copy of The Little Mermaid under one arm and a bag of half-eaten Sour Patch Kids under the other. Cade. Rated M for language and mild smut in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay," Beck starts, and he's not looking at me. "Okay, so, like, Jade … you know I love you?"

His brunette orbs flick upwards for some reassurance, and I nod once, tersely.

He presses his lips together and proceeds, gripping the Styrofoam cup of bright green soda that has probably lost its fizz for weeks. "I love you, but … I don't know if you've noticed, but it's, um, it's just not working."

I hear him swallow, and I dig my fingernails into the palm of my right hand, probably hard enough to draw some blood, but I'm too afraid to check.

"Uh, yeah," Beck continues. "I mean, things have been great._ You_ are great, you're a really cool person but … it's taken some time and I've realized that maybe you're just not the one for me. Sure, we've been together for a really long time, and I should've said something sooner but … Jade? Jade, are you listening to me?"

It takes me a while to answer, maybe a minute or two, and right before Beck is about to open his mouth to say something once more, I cut him off harshly. "Yes."

"Good. Because, this is really, really hard for me to get out. Like, so much harder than you could probably imagine. Hm, where was I? Right, right, I know I should've said something, but I didn't want to hurt you, you know? I didn't-"

"You what?"

"I, uh, I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't want to … hurt me?"

Beck looks up again, this time with his eyebrows pulled down. He takes a nervous gulp of his drink and stares at me again. "Yeah."

"So, you think by bringing me to some grungy pizza shop and telling me over some stale soda that you 'love me' but you 'don't want to be with me' after two fucking years of being together that you're not _hurting_ me?"

Beck swallows again, the muscles in his jaw flexing with the movement, and it takes ever fiber in my being not slap the tan off his face. So, I do the best thing I could do at the moment. I leave.

"Fuck you, and thank you for wasting two years of my life." I rise up from my seat so fast that I accidentally knock my chair backwards, and it topples to the floor with a crash, causing hard glances from various customers in the pizza shop in my direction.

I seriously couldn't give a shit.

Snatching up my jacket, I shrug it on as quickly as humanly possible and then steel myself as I begin my walk (or stomp) out of the shop. Everyone is staring at me, all mirrors of green, blue and brown, and I avoid their curious gazes as best as I can make a beeline for the front door.

Beck is right behind me, I can feel him trailing my footsteps.

"Come on, Jade, I really do love you-"

"I know, Beck, I _know_," I whip around so fast that I almost break my neck, and he takes two automatic steps backwards, hands raised as if to shield himself. "I_ know_ how great a person I am and I _know _how much you love me. But that doesn't stop you from being a complete asshole and breaking my heart, now does it?"

His eyes enlarge themselves, and he lowers his arms, and then reaches them forward, hovering them over my shaking fists, trying to _touch_ me.

"Jade, I-"

"Don't even try to explain, cause I swear to the ceiling that I will chop your dick off! You're a piece of shit, and tell whatever whore that you've been sleeping around with and are leaving me for that she deserves you. Rot. In. Hell."

I don't realize that I'm in my car until I hear the engine roar. I don't realize I'm crying until the windshield begins to look like a Kindergartener's colorful painting gone haywire.

Somehow, I make it home in one piece, and after fumbling around messily for my keys, I jam them into the slot and push open the door, stepping into the silent, empty structure that I'm forced to live in.

No one's home. No one is ever home. My mother, Hilary, is a self-made work-o-holic who would rather attend a business meeting than ask me how my day was, and my father … who knows where the fuck he is?

I drop my keys in the little dish my mom put on a table by the front door and, in the dark, peel off my jacket and kick the door closed with my foot. After locking it, I blindly feel my way through the hallway and up the stairs.

I move zombie-like through the upstairs hall until my fingers slide against the familiar wood of my bedroom door, and I bolt inside, without bothering to switch on the light, and I collapse onto my bed in a crumpled heap of a person.

Through all that, I'm still crying. Through all that, I'm still hurt. Through all that, I'm still alone.

That asshole. That fucking_ asshole_. How dare him! How dare he do that to me, how dare he think that he could just lead me on for two years and then drop me! And probably for some slut that is only attracted to him for his looks.

At least I loved him for him.

I need to do something. My heart feels like it's about to explode and my ribs feel ready to cave in on my stomach. I want to throw up.

Being the hormonal wreck of a teen girl that I am, I go with newest impulse.

I sit heavily in my computer chair and grasp my mouse, shaking it to wake my computer up. When it's finally awake, and the screen is bright white in my eyes, my The Slap profile is staring me in the face.

I click the red _Update Status_ button.

My fingers rapid across my keyboard, I type: _Fuck love. And fuck everyone else, too._

When I hit Post, I don't feel any better.

Venting through the internet has never worked for me. What am I really doing, pouring out all my feelings into a machine and letting everyone and their fucking mother read it?

I'm too tired to delete the post, so I don't.

I rise ghost-like from my computer chair and wander over to my bed again, kicking my boots off in the process, and land face-first on my comforter. Then that's when I let it all bubble out.

The gut-wrenching, animalistic sobs that escape my throat are so loud and terrifying that I'm surprised my neighbors don't call the police. I lay there, pitiful Jade West, and I cry harder than I have ever cried before in all my years of existence.

I squeeze my eyes so tight that I see stars, and they're the last thing I see before I drift off into sleep.

* * *

When I wake up, someone is knocking on the door. My room is still dark.

I felt incredibly groggy and incredibly hung over, but I managed somehow to lift my head slightly and peer at the lime green numbers on the digital clock beside my bed. They read 1:23 AM.

My first instinct is to let the person keep knocking until they finally get a freaking hint that no one in their right mind opens the door at 1 AM. But then again, I'm not exactly in my right mind.

It's like Beck messed with my brain, jacked up my sense of judgment, and my feet are moving on their own as they trudge, no _stomp_, down the steps and into the front hall.

"Who is it?" I snarl, pressing my face up against the cold wood of the door, peering out of the peephole but seeing nothing but an outline of a figure against the darkness.

"It's me."

I grip the cold metal of doorknob, and turn, and while flinging the door open, I plaster on the meanest, nastiest face I could manage at the moment.

She doesn't say anything. She's just standing there with a DVD copy of _The Little Mermaid _under one arm and a bag of half-eaten Sour Patch Kids under the other.

* * *

We don't say anything for a while. We watch _The Little Mermaid _three times. Not by my choice, but mostly because every time it would end, she would just get up off the couch without a word, rewind the disk and sit back down.

By the time the movie ends the third time, she is yawning and she finally ejects the DVD from the player, and snapping it back in its assigned case. Then she discards the empty Sour Patch Kids bag, and then heads for the front door.

"Cat," It's the first word I've spoken since I told Beck to rot in hell (which I totally meant), and my tongue feels like a deadweight in my mouth. Upon hearing her name, she stops and turns, her eyes shiny. "Thank you."

A smile finds its way to her lips, and she says, "You're welcome."

When she's beginning to leave again, I say, "Cat."

She turns, again. "Yes?"

"Stay," The word comes out needy, desperate and I, Jade West, am _never _desperate; except for now. "Please?"

And then she strides back over to the couch, flicks off the lamp with one hand while properly positioning one of my mom's various throw pillows with the other. I stretch out with my legs over the armrest, and because the couch is almost as wide as a bed, she stretches out beside me.

She smells like vanilla, and she's warm.

When I fall asleep again, I can hear the _beatbeatbeat_ of her heart.

* * *

_Hello. It's me, Ali. Well, that was sad, wasn't it? _

_Anyhoo, this going to be a mulitipart thing. Probably no more than three chapters at the most. _

_But, did you like it? I don't know if I do, I feel like it may be a tad bit all over the place. Constructive critisim is great. Reviews are wonderful. _

_Laters. _


	2. Chapter 2

When I awake the next morning, the whole house smells like pancakes and syrup, which is weird because a.) I can't cook and b.) my mother can't cook to save her life either, and besides, since when did she start coming home before noon?

Besides, it's a Saturday, and my mother would rather be off running errands than have breakfast with me.

The world outside the living room window is fairly still, and the sunlight filtering in is golden and painfully blinding, but it sobers me up quickly. I let out a I-really-don't-want-to-get-out-of-bed-but-I-have-to kind of groan.

Sitting up on the couch, I feel a brief moment of discomfort and grossness because I'm still clad in my clothes from yesterday, but it quickly passes over when I hear singing.

It's quiet at first, the words and melody barely audible over the sound of the frying pan and cabinets opening and closing, but with each fleeting second it grows louder, more confident.

_Somewhere over the rainbow_

_Way up high_

_There's a land that I heard of_

_Once in a lullaby_

_Somewhere over the rainbow_

_Skies are blue_

_And the dreams that you dare to dream_

_Really do come true_

That's when it hits me like a freight train.

Cat Valentine is in my kitchen. She's cooking me breakfast. She's singing.

The night rushes back to me in broken fragments, and I suck it all in at once.

Beck saying he loves me but 'it's not working', with his sorry eyes and stale soda. Me, in a crumpled, hormonal heap of a person on my bed. My status update on The Slap. Someone knocking on my door. Watching as a mermaid becomes a human three times in a row. The scent of vanilla and the sound of Cat Valentine's pulse in my ear.

Like a jolt of electricity into my limbs, I climb off the couch and after stumbling clumsily over a pair of sneakers that are not mine, I nearly dart for the entrance to the kitchen.

"Mornin', sunshine." Cat's words are upbeat and melodic when I step into the kitchen, probably looking like Katy Perry in the Hot N Cold video (minus the wedding dress) compared to her. Her skin looks freshly scrubbed, and wrapped around her jeans is my dad's old apron that has 'Kiss The Cook' written on it. "You hungry?"

She's at the stove, and there are eggs simmering on a pan, while six fluffy beige pancakes sit patiently in a stack on one of my mother's prized China plates on the counter. Near the microwave, the toaster (which I swear hasn't been used in months) dings. I didn't even know we_ had_ eggs.

When Cat turns again, her hair bounces along with her movement, and she's smiling, her teeth pearly. "Sit, sit. I'm almost done."

My feet obey immediately, and I drop into the kitchen table, hands pressed together, my gaze still trained on her.

_What is she __**doing**__? Why is she even doing this? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why? _

After a few more moments of fluttering around the kitchen like the bumblebee she is, Cat finally waltzed over to the table with two plates piled high with eggs sunny side up, buttered toast, fluffy pancakes and crisp bacon.

"Give me your honest opinion, okay?" She says, placing my plate delicately in front of me before settling into the unoccupied chair across from me. "I just started taking these cooking classes with Tori, so I'm probably not all that awesome."

"Cat, why did you …" I choose my words carefully. I don't want her to think I don't appreciate all of this (because, trust me, I can't even remember the last time someone even considered making me breakfast). "Why did you do all of this for me?"

Cat takes a little nibble of her toast and then sets in tenderly back on her plate. And then she does the strangest thing.

She reaches across the table and slides her palm over my hand, and her fingers curl. When I look at her, she's not smiling, but her eyes are crinkling at the edges. "You're my friend. That's what friends do for each other. They make each other feel better."

When her grip on my hand tightens, and I think I forget how to breathe.

Her words are bouncing around my skull. _You're my friend. You're my friend. _

It's not that I'm angry that she called me her friend. It's not that I'm happy either. I'm just … surprised.

Okay, on a scale of 1 to douche-bag, I've been nothing but an asshole to Cat since the day we met. And, what makes it even worse is that she's never really given me a reason.

See, Tori has, because she thought it was okay to be a smoochy smoochy with Beck the first week of school (which I could care less about now). Robbie has, because he's just a fucking weirdo. Trina because she's annoying and conceited, and André because once he posted an embarrassing photo of me on The Slap, and I was _not_ laughing.

But Cat … she's always been nice. Always. No matter what kind of shit I threw at her, she was always back for more, always smiley and bubbly and just being herself.

So for her to call me her friend now, well, it's kind of a big deal.

"So?" Cat's brown eyes shift from my face to my plate. "How are the eggs?"

I didn't notice, but she let my hand go, the moment has past but the flesh where she touched me is tingling. I quickly withdraw the hand into my lap and cradle it there like her touching me was something special.

"They're-they're amazing. Thank you, Cat." I inhale.

She smiles, and it must be infectious, because before I know it, the corners of my lips are tugging up and I'm smiling too, which is odd for me, because … well, let's just say I'm not exactly the happiest person around.

We eat in silence for a few moments, and I realize that this is the first silence that I actually enjoy. It's not the kind of silence where everything is awkward and irritating, but the kind where you know you could just say anything, and you wouldn't be judged for it.

But I don't say anything. Cat's food is delicious.

"Listen," Cat suddenly puts her fork down, and raises her eyes to me. This time, they're not soft and inviting, but more like sharp and commanding. I've never seen her look at me like this before. "We are going to have fun today, Jade. And while we're having fun, I don't want to hear you utter a single word about … He Who Shall Not Be Named, understood?"

"But, Cat-"

"No." She puts her hand up to silence me, and it works. "No 'if', 'ands' or 'buts' about it. We're going shopping, and then to a movie, and then out to lunch. I'm not going to let you sit here and rot in your own pity, Jade."

And then that's when a smile spreads out on her lips, and she adds, "And you could use a little sun, you're beginning to look like a vampire."

* * *

As much as it pained me to admit it out loud, Cat was right.

I did need to get out (and not for pasty-skin related issues). Being outside or at least out of my museum of a house felt so much better than being locked away in my room and sobbing. Slowly but surely, I was beginning to feel better, and Beck was becoming just another picture to burn.

"How do I look?" Cat jumps in front of me wearing a pink cardigan with colorful butterflies stitched on it and a pair of oversized glasses that were sliding down the bridge of her nose, quite cutely. "Sexy librarian?"

"More like my grandma at one of her competitive bingo tournaments." I crack, ripping my gaze away from her, because she did in fact look like a sexy librarian and I was suddenly having very graphic images of me forgetting to return a book on time and the naughty consequences for it.

"Oh, poo," She pouts and then disappears again behind the rows and rows of various hand-me-down items that were for sale. "I thought I had something going there."

"Next time, doll." I call over to her, and take a minute to catch my breath and slow my racing mind before she pops out wearing a maid uniform and I jump her bones.

This has been happening ever since we left the house this morning. It's been happening ever since, as I was innocently cruising down the street in my car, and Cat, who should've been strapped in her seatbelt to the passenger seat, leaned over, and planted a quick kiss on my cheek.

It struck me by surprise, and I almost killed us both, swerving into the other lane.

"What was that for?"

"You needed it." Was all she answered, and then it was dropped, and she was rambling on about how her brother is thinking about adopting a rabid squirrel that he caught with his bare hands in their back yard.

Even though she acted like this was an everyday occurrence, inside my ribcage was humming, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. I had to grip the steering wheel tightly to even keep my sanity.

And the funniest part of it all? When she kissed me, I had the biggest impulse in the world to kiss her back. But I ignored it, because, well, that's weird.

Cat is a girl, and I'm sure as hell a female and two females can't like each other like that. I mean, they can, but_ I_ can't. I can't.

I'm Jade West, the straight girl. I like boys. I like penis.

So, if I'm so boy-crazy, tell me why it's taking everything within me to keep from kissing Cat?

* * *

_Hola. _

_It's me, again. So, yeah. Here is chapter two._

_I'm not really sure what to say. Reviews make me smile. _

_Bye._


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, now look."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're lying, the killer is still there." Cat whispers from behind her two hands, since they are blocking her view from watching the brilliance that is _The Scissoring_ in front of her.

"Cat, I think the whole point of a movie is for you to _watch it_."

"But it's _scary_." Cat doesn't whisper this time, and a grumpy looking middle-aged man behind us leans down and, because his mother probably never taught him how to say it and not spray it, drizzles his salvia all over us as he tells us to shut up.

I flip him off and push away my now spit-drenched popcorn, and look at Cat again.

Even in the dark, she's beautiful.

I mean, not that I was really_ looking_, but, how could someone not notice Cat Valentine? Her eyes, two wide pools of brown that shimmer and shine even with the lack of light. Her nose, up-turned and perfectly sculpted by an angel. Her skin, blemish free, creamy and soft-

Wait. _Wait_.

I press the palms of my hands into my thighs and direct my attention to the movie screen before me. The pretty main character girl's best friend just died and the rest of the actors are in a hot pursuit to figure out who the killer is.

No. No, I'm not doing this again. I'm not. I can't. This, this is weird. It's not right.

I steel myself the rest of the film, trying so desperately to concentrate, to take some kind of satisfaction in all the blood and gore and scissors, but Cat is a freaking magnet. With each second, I found myself more and more pulled to her, some invisible rope was tied to me, it wouldn't let go.

She was suffocating me.

When the screen finally fades to black and a million names pop up, I practically jump out of my seat and, almost trampling an old man in the process, I find my way out the exits and push through the doors.

The moment I step out, bright hot afternoon light hits me, and blinds me, but I don't care. I can finally breathe.

My chests heaves, and my lungs inflate, but that doesn't help with the lump of anxiety that has wedges itself in between my throat and mouth.

Why am I feeling like this?

Why is she making me feel like this?

In all my years of living, I have never questioned my sexuality. I never, ever was attracted to a person of the same sex and I'm not going to start now, just because Cat gave me a little, insignificant kiss on the cheek.

"So, where do you want to go for lunch?" Cat's voice is light and airy, and when I turn, she's just standing behind me with her hands behind her back. She looks so sweet, so innocent, and it actually begins to make me sick.

This is worse, ten times worse than I felt about my breakup with Beck.

"Cat," I swallow. "Cat, we can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" She sounds genuinely confused, and glances over her shoulder at the structure of the movie theater. "Go to the movies? Alright, I guess we could rent them from now on, but-"

"No." I stop her. "No. We … we can't hang out anymore."

"Why?" Both her eyebrows rise like question marks.

"Because … because we just can't, okay? I-I need to deal with this on my own. I know you're just being a good …" I swallow. " … friend, and I thank you for that, but just … stop. Stop it, okay?"

I let the words spill out of my mouth and out into the air between Cat and I. My stomach clenches and unclenches as I finish my little speech, and there is something tugging me to make a run for it to my car and drive away as fast as I can.

But my feet don't respond, and Cat's staring at me with watery eyes.

"Did I … did I do something wrong?"

"No," I run my hands through my hair, twisting it up into a loose ponytail, and then letting it fall down my shoulders. "No, you've been so good to me today, and last night, but, it's just too much. I want to be alone right now."

For some reason, I expect Cat to just burst out into tears or run away like a frightened gazelle, or something along those lines. But, shockingly, she doesn't.

She nods, and steps closer to me, so close the vanilla scent is radiating off her again, and her fingers clasps around my wrists. "Okay, I can respect that. I'll leave you alone now."

And then she lets go and with a flick of her head, motions over to the section of the parking lot where my car is waiting patiently.

The ride home is silent, except for the occasional outburst of conversation that's one sided on Cat's part.

Since she walked all the way to my house last night, I drop her off on the curb of her street, and she's all smiles and animated hand motions as she says goodbye and skips up to her front walk.

I grit my teeth and give her a terse nod, but it doesn't feel right.

Even when I'm home, stuck in between my sheets and my comforter, eyes trained hard on the zigzag patterns that cover my ceiling, _it just doesn't feel right_.

Cat is a wonderful person, and I'm a monster. When I hit rock bottom, she was there to pick up the pieces. She was _there_. Not Tori, or Andre, or Robbie (whom I'm sure all read my Slap status as Cat did), or even my own mother.

That's not how you're supposed to treat someone who cares about you. Who (maybe) loves you, as a friend of course. That's not fair to her. I'm not that kind of person, I'm not going to pretend to care and then just abandon her.

_God, I'm turning into Beck. _

Springing from my sheets, I clutch my phone and punch in Cat's number as fast as my fingers will allow.

She picks up on the second ring. "Hello, Cat speaking."

"Hey," I start, my lungs inflating. _What do I even say?_ "It's me, Jade."

There is some shifting around on her end of the phone, and then a sharp crunching noise, like when you shove a handful of chips into your mouth. "What's up? You feeling better?"

"Not really." I swallow. "I'm calling because … I just feel really bad. I'm not sure if I hurt your feelings or anything."

"You did hurt my feelings," Cat's voice is quiet. "But, I still care. I've always cared about you, Jade. Just because you yelled at me doesn't mean I'm going to stop. And besides, you always yell at me."

My heart feels like it's about to break through my ribs, and I busy myself with picking at a loose piece of black thread on the hem of my skirt.

"I'm sorry for that, like seriously sorry." I swallow, again. _God, why is this so hard?_ "I know I might've come off a little mean earlier, but I want you to know that it's not you … it's me. I just need a little time, you know?"

"Of course," Cat's voice is genuinely understanding, and I'm silently grateful for that. "I guess I was a bit too assertive. We'll take it slow from now on. We can hang out when you're ready, okay?"

_I'd like that more than you know_. "Sure."

"See you Monday?"

"It's a date." The last word lingers on my tongue.

"It's a date." She echoes, and I don't have to be looking at her to know she's smiling.

When I hang up, my heart has found it's place back where it belongs beneath my lungs, and it feels like for the first time since my breakup with Beck, I can breathe.

* * *

_Hey! _

_So, I don't know why, but I like this chapter. Something about it makes me smile when I read it over. _

_Well, I hope you've enjoyed it! More to come soon! _


	4. Chapter 4

I guess I missed the memo that the following Monday at school became national 'Stare At Jade Like She's A Fucking Zombie With A Rainbow Wig' Day. They all obviously read my status, and assumed what it meant.

I mean, yeah, the whispering I could tolerate. At Hollywood Arts, the skimpiest sliver of information is passed from person to person, morphing and being twisted along the way. In simpler terms, shit spreads like wildfire, and by the time the whole thing with Beck would get back to me, I could be pregnant with my second child after surviving a heart attack and Beck has HIV and is eloping with a French model.

Typical.

But, it was the staring. It was the way they all_ looked_ at me. Just a sea of blue, green and brown mirrors reflecting my image back at me. Like, I did something wrong and the whole debacle with Beck was my fault. And it wasn't. It's not.

Everyone avoided me like I was the plague, even Sikowitz, who, after I sat down in my chair, came over and gingerly patted the top of my head in an attempt to comfort me.

But I didn't need his pity. Cat was extra cheerful and bubbly, and wore the yellowest sundress in the history of sundresses, and even though it burned my eyes, it made something inside my stomach stir, something warm and soothing.

Sadly, not everyone was so bright and cheery.

At lunch, there's no sign of Beck (and he's lucky, too, because I was in no mood to face him, not yet), so I take a seat at our usual table with Tori, Andre, and Cat. Cat sits beside me and even offers me a handful of Skittles from the secret stash in her book bag.

Aside from Cat, it was like no one wanted to approach me. They were all sported crumbling smiles and forced glances, and the heavy silence that surrounded the table was nearly deafening.

"So," Tori takes a dainty little sip of her water and begins the conversation. "I'm having a little get-together at my house this weekend. You guys are all invited, and Trina just _insisted_ on being the musical entertainment. Beck is …" Her eyes dart to me. "He, um … you know … is bringing … the pizza."

Silence invades the air again, and underneath the table, Cat's fingers are warm as they clench almost protectively around my wrist. I want to thank her, but I don't.

When a moment passes, and there aren't any emotional outbursts on my end, Andre clears his throat. "Yeah, that's cool. So, what's everyone doing for that Improv project? Robbie wanted to do a little house scene, you know, where we all pretend we're like a family or whatever but Beck was like … I mean, B-Beck was like … yeah."

All eyes are on me again. There is pity in all their gazes, and it makes me feel even worse.

"Beck isn't Voldemort," I snap, finally, distracting myself by picking all the carrots out of my salad and pushing them aside. "You can say his name."

Tori exchanges a look with Andre before raising a brow. "Are you sure? We don't want to hurt you."

_What the hell is up with people and hurting me? _Cat's fingers detach from my wrist and grasp my palm.

"It's okay, I'm fine." I fib, and I must not be very good at it, because they don't bring up Beck, or anything else really for the rest of the lunch period.

That is, until the Devil himself comes waltzing through the doors of the school about five minutes before the lunch period ends, a triumphant smile spread across his lips and a short, giggly and unfamiliar brunette trailing behind him.

My first instinct is to take off, cut the rest of school, go home and lay in bed, obsessing over who the girl is and why she's with Beck, and why she was smiling, and why is she so giggly, and why doesn't he love me anymore and did he ever love me?

My second option, however, is holding my ground right there at the table and find out all the answers to those questions myself.

As I expected, Beck saunters up to the table, scanning over everyone's face briefly before his gaze burns into me. Inside, my heart is beating erratically, and my legs feel like Jell-O, but I stare just as hard back at him, and even harder at his little friend.

"Hey, guys," He addresses the whole table, but stares solely at me. "What's going on?"

"Not much," Tori's eyes shift uneasily between Beck and me, and beside me, I feel Cat tense up. "We were just discussing the plans for Saturday."

As if Tori's words had some effect on him, Beck's eyes tear away from me. "Oh, yeah. I'm really looking forward to that." And then he glances over his shoulder, and with a smile, says, "Guys, I would like you to meet Nicole. Nicole, these are my friends."

'Nicole' peeks out from behind Beck's shoulder and lifts two fingers in a wave. Everyone greets her kindly, but I arch a judgmental brow.

_Her eyes are too big._

_She has no fingernails._

_Look at her hair. How long has it been since she washed it? Has she ever heard of shampoo?_

As if she can read my thoughts, Cat lets out a small snicker.

"So, um, Nicole, do you go to Hollywood Arts?" Andre attempts at shifting the conversation, but it does nothing to ease the obvious tension.

"No," Nicole shakes her head, but there is still a stupid smile plastered onto her heavily glossed lips. "I don't. Beck was just showing me around."

As if on cue, her fingernail-less fingers latch onto Beck's upper arm, and then the two of the both of the start tittering like they know something we don't, and I feel as though I'm going to upchuck my lunch.

I've held my patience long enough; I just can't do it anymore.

"Gee, people sure do bounce back fast."

It's like I have super powers, and my words alter time, because after that, it felt like everyone looked at me in slow motion. Tori's eyes were worried, Andre's were cautious, Cat's were forever protective, Nicole had a dumbass deer-caught-in-headlights look on her face, but Beck's was my favorite.

I did it. I made him angry.

"She's my cousin," Beck's eyes are ablaze and his fingers are gripping the edge of the table and behind him, Nicole shrinks back. "She's just shadowing me today because she wants to get into Hollywood Arts next year."

I force a cough. "Bullshit." Another forced cough, and Andre has to cover his mouth with both his hands to keep from laughing.

Beck's eyebrows build a bridge over his nose. "What is your problem?"

"It's you, obviously. I thought we already established this?"

I don't know where this is coming from, to be honest. All this sarcastic, snappy confident crap. I think it's Cat's hand. Her touching me has given me a boost of courage. Or, it could be something in my salad.

"Why do you always have to act like such a bitch, Jade?" Beck's tone takes a turn. "You're not the fucking Queen of the Universe, alright?"

"Hey, guys-" Tori starts, but I cut her off immediately with my hand.

"First of all, maybe you should stop doing stupid shit just to spite me. And second of all, I am not a bitch, and don't you _dare_ ever call me that again."

My head hurts. My stomach is cramping. Things are getting even more intense, and people from other tables are starting to stare and catch on to what's happening. I don't want to be here anymore.

"Well, kids, this has been fun, but I've got more important things to attend to." I push away my half-eaten lunch and snatch up my book bag, rising from the table.

"Yeah." Cat mimics my movements and stands too, hands on her hips. "More important things."

A smile threatens to cross my lips, and part of me just wants to thank Cat for her support right there, but I was kind of on a badass roll, so I would have to wait until later.

I sling my book bag of my shoulder, turn and give Beck and his little whore The Finger, and then march right back into the school with Cat in tow.

By the time I reach my locker, my heart feels like it's trying to crawl out of my chest.

"You okay?" Cat's eyes glitter.

"Yeah," I say, and there's a smile on my face. "He's an ass."

"Yeah," Cat furrows her brows, and crosses her arms over her chest, trying her best to look intimidating. "Beck is _such_ an ass."

And I don't know why, but from the way she's stand and the way calling Beck an ass just came out of her mouth, I suddenly find it the funniest thing in the world and next thing I know, I'm laughing so hard I'm crying.

But the tears don't come from sadness, not at all. I'm happy.

I'm happy to call Cat Valentine my friend.

She's my hero.

* * *

_Hello! _

_I like this chapter. I like sassy Jade. I just like Jade in general._

_Review, please? They keep me writing. _

_More to come, stay tuned! Things only ... ehem, **heat up** from here!_


	5. Chapter 5

"Would you rather eat mustard or ketchup for the rest of your life?"

"Mustard is gross, ketchup is love. My turn. Would you rather be burned alive or be buried alive?"

Cat's face scrunches up, her lips tightly pursing and her palms pressing together as she raises a brow in concern. "That's a bit … disturbing, don't you think?"

"I don't know," I answer with a lazy shrug of my shoulders, and lean farther into the plushy softness of the throw pillow that Cat had brought along for our trip to the park. At first, seeing the fuzzy, lime green thing wasn't exactly appealing, but now that I don't have to feel rough tree bark on my back, I think it's the smartest thing she's ever done. "It's the only thing I can think of."

While swirling her hand around in a bag of potato chips (courtesy of me), Cat tilts her head. "Try something else."

It's a breezy Wednesday afternoon, exactly two days after my little confrontation with Beck and his 'cousin', and much to my relief, I haven't seen either of them since that day. The rumors haven't gotten any better, though. Now it's spreading that I've been sending Nicole death threats and plan to blow up her house.

If it wasn't for Cat, that rumor might just be fact.

Surprisingly, she's been keeping me sane. (Shocker, right? Because, I mean, this is _Cat Valentine_ we're talking about.)But, seriously, it seems to me like she's doing a better job of keeping me grounded than I ever thought she would.

She even suggested that, in an attempt to get away from all the drama, we just spend the evening after school at the park. So far, it's helping a little. And I only say a little, because as much as I would like to completely ignore the fact that my ex-boyfriend is probably smooching it up with skanky Nicole, I can't. It's still there, buzzing around in the back of my skull.

I easily think of my next question.

"Well, would you rather cheat on someone you love or have someone you love cheat on you?"

"Try something else." Cat repeats.

"I don't think I want to play anymore." My eyes turned skywards, I watch as the bright ball of orange flame that is the sun flicker behind a row of leafy trees. Behind us, a child shrieks in excitement. "Can we just go home?"

Cat shakes her head, red hair flying. "So you can wallow in self-pity? I don't think so."

"I wasn't going to wallow. I was just going to put Jar of Hearts on replay, and eat ice cream in my pajamas in the dark."

Cat's lips purse tightly, annoyed, but the look in her eyes says otherwise. "Very funny. My turn to ask you a question."

I lean back on the pillow and begin to pick away at my almost non-existent cuticles. "Shoot."

"If I kissed you right now, would you stay or run away?"

All my life, I've gotten high A's in English. It's not that I'm bragging or anything, but that's the way it's always been with me. It's always been my best subject, but I'm apparently not a wizard when it comes to foreshadowing.

"I don't know, I'd probably stay. Mostly because I don't have anything better to do right now-"

That's when it happened.

That's when Cat leans in, closes the small space between us with her flower scented perfume and rich chocolate orbs and flowing ruby red hair, and she kisses me. Like, not a little peck on the cheek, or even a brush dangerously close to the corner of my mouth.

She kisses me, full and proud on the lips.

It takes about three seconds for my brain to comprehend, to fully grasp the fact that _holy shit, Cat Valentine is kissing me. She's __**kissing **__me! _But even then, my limbs don't respond to the action. I sit there, limp as a noodle, and my chest feels like it's about to cave in on itself.

When she pulls away, there's a tingling sensation going on in the back of my skull, and my lips feel numb. She settles nonchalantly back in her spot on the grass, hands clasped in her lap, one side of her mouth tugged up in a grin.

And I probably look like a deer caught in headlights.

"Cat?"

"Yes?"

"You just kissed me."

"I know." Her eyes get a little bigger, her smile a little brighter, and she nods once as if to silently say '_No, shit, Sherlock'_.

"But, why did you … Cat, you can't just …," I swallow, take a breath, calm my nerves, if that is even possible since my insides are humming. "Cat, you can't just … kiss me."

"You said you would stay."

"I didn't think you were actually going to kiss me."

"But when I did it in the car, you didn't say 'no' then."

"But that was on the cheek."

"Does it really make much of a difference?"

"Yes, Cat, it does." My brain is throbbing, my palms are sweating. Somewhere in the distance, behind the trees, the jingle to an ice cream truck can be heard, and like animals, the children around us flock to it. "We're friends. Friends don't … they don't kiss other friends."

In the moment that the words escape my mouth, Cat's face changes. And not for the better. Her eyes flick downwards, losing their sparkle, and she sucks her bottom lip in between her teeth. For a minute, I think I've broken her.

Using her fingers to pick at a clump of weeds in the Earth nearby, she mutters, "I just wanted to make you feel better."

And here we are again. We're back in the same position where Cat will do something completely harmless and innocent, and I'll make her feel like shit about it. Then when she's upset, I feel like shit and I always end up being the one saying sorry. It's a vicious cycle that I'm desperate to break.

"Look, I'm sorry." I say. "I'm not saying that what you did was wrong … you just kind of … caught me off guard, you know?"

Cat's eyes narrow, but she nods anyway. Then, in the calmest voice I've ever heard her speak in, she says, "Do you like me, Jade?"

I don't hesitate. "Yeah."

It's not a lie. I do like her. I like the way (even though I refuse to admit it) she's happy and bubbly and just a big ball of sunshine about 80 percent of the time. I like how she's always the underdog when it comes to talent and proves everyone wrong. I like the way she thinks all of life's questions can be answered through an old sitcom.

"Good, I like you too. Do you like kissing me?"

This question is a little harder. But it's a lot easier to answer if I constantly think of the way my insides felt when she kissed me.

"Y-yes."

"Good, I like kissing you too. So, if we like each other and we like kissing each other, why can't we just be together?" Cat picks a bright yellow dandelion and holds it out to me, an uneasy smile on her face. "More than friends?"

I must admit, her logic was accurate. I mean, I'm not homophobic or anything, so I don't really see anything wrong with the idea of she and I being … together. I don't see anything wrong with any two people of the same gender liking one another.

My problem is that I've just never been with anyone of the same sex. I've never even been through that phase where I was tempted to 'experiment'. Of course, I've thought about it numerous times, but I've never made any of those fantasies come true.

I guess this is fate's way of saying, 'Hey, try something new!'

And who am I to deny destiny?

I inhale the biggest breath my lungs will allow before I say, "I mean, I guess we could try the whole 'girlfriend and girlfriend' thing out, but I don't know if-"

"Yay!" Cat's arms are around me in an instant, and I'm drowning in a sea of red hair. "Yay, this is so good. I promise I will be the bestest girlfriend ever and I'll even buy you flowers and candy and anything you want, Jade. I promise."

"Okay," I laugh, silently flattered. "Okay, but slow down, Sunshine. We just became official like twenty seconds ago."

"Sorry," Cat blushes and releases me, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "I guess I got a little too excited. This may sound really corny, but I've been waiting for this to happen for like … forever."

My stomach drops. "You have?"

Cat shrugs sheepishly. "Yeah, ever since Freshman year. But, it doesn't matter anymore. You're my girlfriend _now_ and that's all I care about."

Then that's when she adds, "And, now that you're with me, this means you're not going back to Beck, right?"

_Shit. I completely forgot about him. _

But almost as quickly as I remember him, I brush it away. That's right. I _forgot_ him. He is no longer relevant. Once again, Cat's logic is correct. Beck is my past, and Cat is my future. And to be quite honest, my future is looking pretty bright.

"Nope." I assure her, and I shift over to my left a little so Cat can curl up on the pillow beside me. "Beck is history."

"That's good. Well, not good, but I mean like-"

Cat doesn't get to finish, because my back pocket starts vibrating, and her purse starts making an obnoxious chirping sound before it starts wailing out the lyrics to some pop song.

_Don't forget! Party at my house, Saturday night around 7! Bring food! – Tori _

Both our messages are from Tori, and after reading it, Cat looks up at me hopefully. "We're still going to Tori's thing, right?"

Ha. As if seeing all of them there (including Beck and possibly his whore) is going to scare me?

"Yeah, the perfect place to show of my new … girlfriend." I try out the word, see the way it feels on my tongue, taste the way it feels in my mouth. And, not so surprisingly, it feels nice.

"How do you think everyone will react?" Cat's voice is hushed, and her fingers are warm when they slide in between the spaces of mine.

"I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't care. If they don't like it, they can kiss my ass. Just me and you, Sunshine."

"Just me and you." Cat echoes, and we watch with our fingers intertwined as the sun sets on the horizon.

* * *

_Hey, what's happenin'? _

_Yayyyy! They are finally together! :)) (Please exuse me, I had a little too much sugar today)_

_Question: What do YOU think will happen at Tori's little get together? (I'm only saying this because I'm not really good at planning ahead and need some ideas. Just kidding.) _

_Songs of the hour include:_

_Paramore's whole freaking album – __**Brand New Eyes**_

_Plus some songs from __**Riot!**_


	6. Chapter 6

"And then that's when I said, I can change your tire, ma'am, but I am _not_ eating that broccoli." Robbie says, delivering the punch line of a joke that was supposed to be 'hella funny', but everyone, including myself that was seated at the kitchen table in Tori's house, just stares at him like he just told us he was pregnant. "You don't get it?"

"No," Tori shakes her head, her eyebrows pulled down. "No, we don't."

"But, come on, you don't get how she wanted me to eat the broccoli, but I was only coming to change a tire? Seriously, you've never heard that joke before? It's like, the funniest thing in the world."

Silence. Absolute silence.

"I hate you guys." Robbie pushes back his chair and, grabbing Rex off the counter, uses the doll's wooden fingers to flip us off before he trots off into the direction of the living room where there are reasonably sized clusters of random kids from Hollywood Arts mingling. There is an old rap song playing on the stereo, and a couple of people have started a mini dance battle on the carpet.

"Well, that was weird." I take another sip of the kid friendly fruit punch drink that Tori is serving that she had forbidden me to spike (but I didn't make any promises). Cat is sitting beside me (wearing the pinkest, frilliest dress known to man) at the table on my right, and even though she's not paying attention to me while she chats up some guy from her science class, it's nice to have her there.

A few days ago, I made her my girlfriend. A couple days before that, I was the hollow shell of a human when my boyfriend who so-called loved me left me for some skank he now claims is his cousin. I am living proof at how drastically things can change in a week. I am living proof that things do get better with time.

"Okay, moving on." Tori changes the subject, folding her hands on the table, and looking around at everyone with that permanent smile on her face. "Does anyone know any fun party games to play?"

"Strip poker is always good." Cat's science buddy volunteers his opinion, wiggling his bushy unibrow in her direction. I almost spit up my fruit punch. My chest tightens and I realize that this is always how I felt whenever girls would flirt with Beck. I get territorial, defensive.

But much to my relief, Cat barely acknowledges science boy's suggestive comment aimed at her, and instead, beneath the table, slides her warm fingers around my wrist just like she did at lunch when Beck thought it was a great day for Show and Tell. I hide the smile threatening to spread across my lips by taking another sip of the punch, but silently using my free fingers to graze her thigh. Goosebumps spread across her skin in response.

"Sorry, Peter, this party is rated PG." Tori rolls her eyes up towards the ceiling before bringing them back down again. "Does anyone have any … appropriate games we can play?"

"Duck, duck, goose is always fun!" Cat chimes, and she is immediately pelted with protests.

"How about charades?"

"My family likes to play this drinking game, which would be fun, if you know, Tori wasn't such a goodie two shoes."

"Rules are rules, Kevin."

"Let's play Monopoly!"

"Let's get the hell out of here." I whisper into the curtain of velvety red hair where I was guessing Cat's ear would be. It's not that I'm not excited to be here, it's just that, I wasn't about to sit through a seven hour board game of buying houses and praying for a get-out-of-jail-free card. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday night.

Cat nods slowly before smiling shyly in Tori's direction and excusing the both of us from the table. We both rise, and Cat's fingers are still encircled around my wrist as she leads me towards the living room, where the music has changed into an upbeat, pop tune that talks about partying and drinking your life away.

"Come, let's dance." The corners of her mouth turn up, and she tugs me towards a crowd of people bumping and grinding against one another. As appealing as that looked and sounded, I wasn't in the mood to catch a sexually transmitted disease from one of these people. I placed my feet solidly on the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you ever seen me dance before?" I raise a brow, and watch as Robbie thrusts his crotch against some blonde chick's backside and she turns around to slap him.

"No."

"Good, and it's gonna stay that way."

"_Jade_." Cat whines, grabbing my other wrist with her free hand and sticking out the flesh of her bottom lip in a pout that was so freaking adorable and made my stomach clench. "Come on, I'll teach you if you want. Dance with me."

I don't know, maybe it was something about her face and the way her eyes pleaded with me, or maybe it was just the thought of being able to be pressed up against her, but I finally gave in. Cat lets out a squeal of excitement the moment I nod tersely, and with both hands she drags me into the mosh pit of sweaty, gyrating teenagers.

It's not bad, being pressed up against her like that. Sure, it would be better if some random, beefy guy would stop thinking it's okay to have his hands hover dangerously close to my ass, but the sweet smell of Cat's shampoo distracted me enough.

The music is loud and throbbing, the floorboards are rattling underneath everyone's feet, but it's like we're the only ones on the dance floor. Cat's hands are on my shoulders now, and my arms are wrapped around her waist, and we're both wiggling our hips, and she's smiling.

"See, you can dance."

"This isn't dancing, this is shimming." I roll my eyes, but I'm smiling too.

We stay dancing like that for a several minutes, and then the song changes into a slower, more romantic tone. All the single people start drifting away from the cluster, breaking off to go grab a drink or some snacks. People with a significant other, however, come together like magnets and slowly sway back and forth to the music.

I'm ready to pull away, but Cat grips me tighter, and says, "No, no, keep dancing."

"But this is a slow song." I lean down and whisper the next part in her ear. "This is a couple's song."

"And we're a couple, so this is perfect." She chimes, her smile pulled so high that the dimple in her right cheek is showing.

That's when Cat tilts her head upwards, and from behind a curtain of eyelashes, her brown eyes glisten, and I am totally unprepared as her lips brush mine gently.

I know I should've stopped it immediately, I know I should've seen this coming. I should've prepped Cat beforehand and told her not do this this. I should've done a lot of things, but I didn't. I didn't, and now everyone knows. I've just been pushed face first out of a closet that I got thrown into two days ago.

No one is kind enough to whisper quietly. The music is still booming, but I can still hear them all above the noise.

"Did they just kiss?"

"Are they together?"

"I didn't know Jade was gay."

I look around at everyone's faces. Some are shocked, some are confused and some have big, satisfied grins on their mouths. They're all huddled together, cliques that form armies surrounding the two of us. My stomach plunges, and Cat can feel the sudden shift of tension in the air, because she looks up at apologetically.

I'm about to grab Cat by the shoulders and run, but that's the precise moment that a hand lands on my shoulder. I whip around and stare into the eyes of the last person I was thinking about confronting.

"Let's talk outside." Tori motions with her head towards the front door, and like in the story, people parted like the sea to let us through. Tori leads the way as she pushes open the door, and we all step out onto the patio.

The night air hits me like a bullet, chilling me straight down to the bone, but I keep my body still. Beside me, Cat is visibly shivering, and I loop an arm around her shoulders and she graciously leans into me. Tori's arms are still crossed, and her eyes are narrowed.

With the exception of the occasional car passing by, the neighborhood is silent. No one says anything for a minute. We know what this conversation is about, but we're all too scared too.

After taking a deep breath of air, Tori breaks the tension and her eyes shift between us as she says, "So, you and Cat are like … a couple?"

"Yes." I state calmly and coolly, but my insides are knocking because I just admitted, out loud, to someone other than myself, that Cat Valentine was my girlfriend. It felt deeply terrifying, yet utterly relieving as I did so.

"Well … that's cool."

_Not exactly what I was expecting._

"You don't think it's weird? In any way?"

"No, no. I think it's great." Tori's hard stare softens, and a small smile breaks out on her lips. "I don't judge, love is love. I have a gay uncle."

"So, you don't hate us?" Cat confirms, her tone hopeful.

"No, I don't hate you." Tori shakes her head at Cat, but it's a motherly one, and the smile is still there. "I actually think it's really cute."

As sickening as both of them being sweet is, I don't smile, but on the inside, my stomach warms. It's nice to know that she accepts Cat and I for who we are. It's nice to know that she isn't going to judge us or shun us because of the decisions we've made.

After Tori and Cat have what seems to me to be the ultimate battle of cuteness, the three of us trail back inside where people are still giving us weird looks. Some have moved on and continued with their activities, like the smart people they are.

Like he appeared out of thin air, Cat's science buddy appears in front of us, a sleazy grin on his face. "Wow, you guys are lesbians? That's hot."

"That's right, she's my girlfriend. Keep it moving, buddy." I take a step forward, and throw him the dirtiest, most intimidating look I can muster. Peter, bless him, takes the hint and scurries away to go hit on a girl at the snack table.

The cliques start to break up, the whispers become hushed, but people are still staring at us oddly. I guess this is what I was supposed to expect when I'm now outed to about 30% of my high school. I will be awaiting the floor of the Slap messages in the next couple hours. Like I said, stuff spreads like wildfire.

But I could honestly care less. If they have a problem, they can stand in line with all the other people who don't like me. I'm chuckling at that thought, ready to hit the dance floor with Cat again, but that' s when everything went downhill.

That's the moment that Beck breezes through the front door with Nicole glued to his hip.

* * *

"Can we talk?"

It's the first thing he says, and he says it to me. Like, he literally waltzed through the door, scanned the room and when his eyes locked on me, he strode right over. Nicole followed him too, wearing a skimpy piece of shiny red fabric that I'm guessing is supposed to be her dress.

And now, he wants to talk to me. 'A talk' can mean a lot of things for a pair of people who are newly broken up, but one thing that it surely is is a challenge. And I, Jade West, will never back down from a challenge.

"Sure." I reply coolly, and I look over my shoulder towards Cat. "Give us a minute."

"I'm coming too." Her death grip on my arm tightens, and her eyes are stone hard, colder than I've ever seen them, and they're trained on Beck.

"This is just between me and Jade." Beck raises a skeptical eyebrow at Cat and then looks at me for assurance.

"Yeah, it's just between Beck and I." I turn to Cat, and flash her the bravest smile I could manage at the moment. She returns the smile with less enthusiasm that I had, but reluctantly lets my hand go.

Beck whispers something briefly to Nicole, and she giggles. It makes me sick, but I give Cat's hand a small squeeze before I follow Beck like a little lost puppy up the stairs and into the darkness of Tori's bedroom.

I know what's going to happen. I know exactly how this whole 'we need to talk' thing is going to play out. Right now, we're all alone in Tori's room, and he's going to tell me he loves me. He'll tell me how much he's missed me, how he's going to dump Nicole the minute we get back downstairs, and then he'll wait for me to fall to my knees and take him back in an instant.

If you couldn't tell already, we're been down this path before.

And that's all fine and dandy, but there's a difference this time. This time, I don't want him back. Even though we had been together, he never made me happy. Sure, there were happy moments, here and there, but I was never really satisfied with the way he treated me.

I've been with Cat for two freaking days, and I've never been so happy in my life. That's when I decide to tell him. Right here. Right now.

"I'm dating Cat."

"You're what?" He turns around, eyebrow cocked.

"I'm dating Cat. You know, the little bubbly redhead out there? She's my girlfriend now."

What Beck does next, I'll admit I didn't expect. I thought he would get mad, lash out, or possibly be so shocked that he doesn't even have words and calmly exits the bedroom. But instead, he opens his mouth, and he laughs.

The sound fills the room, invades my ears, so loud and lasts for a complete twenty seconds. At one point he even double over and grabs his stomach like his organs can't take it. When he's finished, he wipes a stray tear from his eye, and his cheeks are red. "Wow, Jade, I think that was the funniest thing you've ever said."

When he flicks his eyes up and scans my face, his smile disappears, and he says, "Oh my God, you're serious, aren't you?"

"Is there a problem?" I can hear the defensiveness creeping into my voice again. _Is it really that funny that Cat and I are dating?_

"I mean, I know we're broken up and everything, and you're allowed to date whomever you want, but, Cat Valentine?" His voice has a ring to it, a mocking one, and I don't like the sound of it.

I swallow, narrow my eyes. My heart is beating the blood in my ears erratically; I can barely hear myself speak. "What's wrong with Cat?"

"Nothing, nothing." Beck throws his hands up as if to surrender, or shield himself. "I'm just saying, she's a girl … and you're a girl so … I didn't think you would ever go down that road."

"People change." I look him up and down with a brow arched. "Obviously."

"I don't want to fight." He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair.

I don't look him in the eye, instead I examine all the freshly dusted picture frames of various members of the Vega family on Tori's dresser. "Then what do you want, Beck?"

"I want you to stop pretending."

"Pretending to do what, exactly?" _Trina looks better in that picture with shorter hair than she does now_.

"Stop pretending you don't want me back, Jade."

Immediately, my attention is on him again. "_Excuse _me?"

"Jade, come on. I was your boyfriend for two freaking years. And, all of a sudden you're all gay for Cat? Bullshit. Just admit that that is to make me jealous and you want me back. I know you do."

"How dare you think I would use Cat like that." I'm appalled; completely disgusted that he thinks that I would go out of my way just to make him jealous. I was angry, but I'm not pathetic. He meant something to me, he was the world to me for a moment, but that doesn't make him worth it.

"Jade … you're Jade. You would do that."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

"No, I wouldn't. No, I won't. I wouldn't do something like that to her. I just don't hurt people for the fun of it, Beck. I'm not like you."

"You think I broke up with you because I think it's fun?"

"Well, why else?" I narrow my eyes at him, and on the back of my eyelids, a picture of Nicole appears. "Oh, no, don't answer that. I know the reason. It's because you'd rather have mindless sex with some whore than be in an actual, committed relationship."

"Nicole is not a whore. I like her. And I know, I was wrong, whatever, but-"

"No, it's_ not_ 'whatever'." I place a hand over my heart, because my chest is beginning to hurt. Above my left eyebrow, a headache has formed. "You_ crushed_ me, Beck. You hurt me. And now you're just upset that Cat took your place, right?"

His eyebrows furrow, he's angry now. "Cat took my place? Yeah, more like she was holding my spot."

"You're an asshole." I don't want to be having this discussion anymore; I don't want to do this right now. I wasn't ready, and I don't think I'll ever be. I begin walking backwards and bump into Tori's bookshelf.

"Stop acting like that." He's walking forward, and with my hands outstretched behind me, I grip the cold metal of Tori's doorknob. I push open the door, and hallway light floods the room, illuminates Beck's eyes.

"No, just fuck you, Beck. Fuck you." I'm turning now, clomping down the hallway. I can hear the party going on down below. Someone cheers, somebody else laughs.

"Stop fighting with me, Jade. You're acting like a child."

"Oh fucking well. I guess I'm a kid then." My eye's are watering, and I don't know why. I take the stairs two at a time, and bang right into Robbie.

"You okay?" He grabs me by my elbow and glances at the top of the stairs, where I'm assuming Beck is looming.

"Fuck off." I snarl, but I make sure my eyes tell him I don't mean it, and I push him away, shoving random people out of the way until I see red. She's standing exactly where I had left her.

"Come on, let's go." I take Cat by the hand and glance back over my shoulder just in time to see Nicole meet Beck on the stairs and wrap her arm around his waist and bury her face in his neck. "I don't want to stay here with these monsters any longer."

* * *

_Wow. Angst. _

_And I know it took me forever and a day to update, I apologize. I was on vacation, and I kind of forgot about writing for a week or two. I'm very sorry. _

_Oh, by the way, I just want to say that even though it may seem like it, I don't hate Beck's character on Victorious. I like him._

_It's just that, for the sake of the story, he has to be a douche. Okay? Okay. _


	7. Chapter 7

"Please don't be mad," Cat is sitting on my bed, my blankets pulled up to her chest, eyes wide and watery. "I'm sure Beck didn't mean that stuff he said. He's not a mean person."

"You'd be surprised at how evil he actually is." I let out a huff of air, kicking off my boots and then pull at the hem of my shirt, wanting nothing more than to get changed, shut off all the lights, crawl into bed and feel the steady rhythm of Cat breathing next to me.

My mother isn't home, not much of a surprise there. Cat had to almost get on her hands and knees and beg her mom to let her sleep over, but it all worked out in the end. The house was empty and dark when we arrived, just the way I like it.

It was the second time Cat had ever even set foot fast my front door, and the first time she'd ever been in my room. In her words it was 'like something out of a scary movie', but I prefer to call

As much as I'm trying to not let it get to me, I can't help it. I'm still fuming.

How dare he. _How dare he think that I would __**ever **__hurt Cat the way he hurt me! How dare he think I would hurt her in any way, shape or form. She's different, she's special. She's fragile, her heart is easily breakable, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I was the cause of it shattering._

With another angry exhale of breath, I shrug my shirt over my shoulders and let it drop to the floor as I reach for my pajama drawer. Behind me, there's a giggle.

"What?"

"You're not wearing a shirt." Cat covers her smile with her hand, and her cheeks quickly turn a shade of pink. Her eyes cast downwards, and she laughs again. The sound tinkles, like wind chimes. It's almost infectious.

"Yeah?" I raise a brow, my hand hovering over the handle of my drawer. "Does it bother you?"

"No, no." She exclaims almost instantly, and fingers a loose piece of thread curling out of my blanket. "I've just never seen you without a shirt before."

"Well," I twirl like a ballerina once, twice, in the middle of the room and watch as Cat's cheeks turn back to their natural shade of creamy tan. "Now you have."

I rummage around in my drawer before I finally find a tattered, oversized sleeping shirt with the advertisement of a screamo band stamped on the front and shrug it on. When I turn back around, she's still sitting there, smile frozen on her lips.

I give her party dress a once over. "You're not going to change?"

My words snap her out of her daze, and she glances down at her outfit before looking up at me again. There wasn't that much light in my room, only the dim glow of the one floor lamp I own, but man, her eyes are like gold.

"Do you have something for me to wear?" She stands, and the blanket falls away. I'm about to nod and say that, in my whole drawer, there has to be _something _she can wear, but then she adds, "Or, I could go naked."

It must've been the look on my face, because before I can even open my mouth to comment, she throws her hands up in front of her face. "Oh my God, I was kidding. I was kidding. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." I smile to show her that it really is okay. "You're my girlfriend, now. Pervert jokes are acceptable."

When I'm digging through the drawer again, I can't help the swelling in my chest, or the hot feeling in the pit of my stomach. Sure, she was joking about the whole going commando thing, but I must admit, for a split second there, I had hoped she wasn't.

I'm not going to lie and say that I haven't desired Cat, because I have. Like that time at the boutique, and when we were at the party and she was pressed against me. Maybe even a few times before my break up with Beck, but those times were very, _very _rare.

I push the thoughts out of my mind though. It's too soon to be thinking about stuff like that, we just stared dating a few days ago. But I've known Cat for years now. If … when it comes down to it, I can trust her.

"I think the shirt should fit nicely," I say after I've plucked a random T-shirt and pair of sweatpants from the drawer, handing her the bundle of clothes. "The sweats may be a little big, but I guess it would be more comfortable like that."

Cat takes them out of my hand, and unexpectedly, raises herself on her tiptoes so she can reach my cheek when she kisses there. It's soft and swift, but it makes my chest clench tightly.

"Do you want me to turn around?" I gesture to the clothing and her. Even though we're dating, she may not be comfortable with the whole 'being naked in front of each other' bit.

"No."

I pause. "Do you want me to close my eyes?"

"Yeah." She nods, setting the clothes down on my bed. "Close your eyes, please."

Obeying, I shut both of my eyes so tight, that I begin to see little white fuzzies float in front of my eyelids. In front of me, I can feel Cat moving, shrugging out of her dress. It makes my skin tingle, being so close to her. For a moment, goose bumps spread across my upper arms.

Then that's when I feel it. Her breath, warm and heavy on my chin, and before I can open my eyes, I feel the soft sensation of her lips on mine. My stomach erupts in a swarm of butterflies, and I let the current of relaxation wash over me. Her hands drape themselves around my neck, and I move to hold her closer.

When I wrap my arms around her waist, however, a mild shock runs through me when I realize that my hands are touching bare skin, not the fabric of my T-shirt.

I jump back as if she's burned me, and her eyes open in exclaim. I look down to see that she did in fact take off the dress, but she has yet to put on my pajamas. I raise a brow in question, but Cat doesn't answer me. Instead, while wearing nothing but her underwear, she climbs into my bed again and pulls the covers up to her chest.

She doesn't have to say anything. Her eyes tell me everything I need to know.

After taking a deep breath the calm my nerves, I pull the lamp's plug out of the outlet before mimicking her movements and sliding into bed beside her. My blankets are hot, and they almost seem to be trying to suffocate me, but then I feel Cat's fingers on my arm.

She kisses my cheek once, twice, and I kiss her back, but then it takes me a moment to realize that in between our make out session, she had climbed on top of me and was now straddling my hips.

"We don't have to." I pause, because I know exactly where this is headed. I've seen enough TV to know, and I've been in an intimate relationship before her. "Just because we started dating doesn't mean that-"

"I know, I know." Cat presses a finger against my lips, and leans down to place a fast kiss on my nose. "But I want to do this, Jade. I want to make you happy. You're my hero."

And with that, she kisses me again, but on my lips this time, and I let my fingers lace in her sea of crimson hair. Her kisses move, she trails them along my jaw, down my neck and she helps me as I throw my shirt over my head.

The cold in the room makes my flesh rise in bumps all over, but Cat's kisses instantly warm me up from the inside out. She takes her time, making sure that she's covered basically every inch of my body with her mouth. In my head, I keep thinking over and over and over again how this has to be one of the best nights of my life.

We continue on for the rest of the night, kissing and feeling, touching and panting. We each take turns, making one another feel like our skin is on fire.

When rapid beating of my heart has slowed, and wonderful clenching in my stomach has loosened, and there's sunlight creeping in from the blinds on my windows, I hold Cat, my hero, close to my chest and fall asleep listening to the steady beat of her heart.

* * *

_It's over. :'(_

_And I know this chapter moved kind of fast, and I apologize for that. I promise I'll write better. _

_But the death of one fic means the birth of another. _

_Thinking about doing a Werewolf!Jade and a Normal!Cat fic. I don't know, let me know what you think. _


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